Mastercard, Adidas and LVMH

Australian News

• Office vacancy rates in Australia hit a near 30-year high of 14.8% as work-from-home trends continue to impact demand for commercial space. LINK

• House prices in some of Australia's most desirable suburbs slump by up to $207,000 in three months, with the high-end market showing continued weakness. LINK

• Bookmakers face significant challenges from AUSTRAC audits, with advertising bans and credit card deposit restrictions tightening margins. LINK

• Falling grocery prices in Australia undermine Labor's crackdown on alleged supermarket price gouging, with inflation easing. LINK

• House prices nationally rise 0.4% in January, with buyers and renters fueling demand amidst anticipation of interest rate cuts. LINK

• Credit card holders churning accounts for bonuses risk their loan eligibility and credit scores. LINK

• Remote workers and middle managers are most likely to get fired in 2024. LINK

Global News

• Demand for shipments from China via rail through Russia has skyrocketed since the Red Sea attacks. LINK

• Major fashion brands, including LVMH, fail to address forced labour risks in their supply chains. LINK

• Singapore's tourist arrivals double in 2023, reaching 71% of pre-pandemic levels, led by visitors from Indonesia, China, and Malaysia. LINK

• EU agrees to a €54 billion aid package for Kyiv. LINK

Company News

• Mastercard introduces a generative AI model to boost fraud detection for banks, aiming to enhance accuracy by up to 300%. LINK

• Qudos Bank and Bank Australia are looking to explore a potential merger. LINK

• Australian FTX creditors are set to receive full repayment, with KordaMentha finding sufficient funds to cover the claims. LINK

• Rio Tinto prevails in a lawsuit against claims over its decision to freeze out a Russian firm from a Queensland alumina refinery. LINK

• South32 sues IGO for over $120 million in unpaid royalties from the Tropicana gold mine. LINK

• Shell reports a $28 billion profit for 2023, down 30% from the previous year as energy prices cool, yet plans to increase dividends and share repurchases. LINK

• Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg apologises to families affected by social media's impact on children. LINK

• Adidas shares drop as its 2024 profit forecast falls short of expectations, partly due to the Yeezy stock sell-off. LINK

Other News

• "You're actually far more likely to die unexpectedly before the end of the day than you are to win the lottery," - $200 million lotto draw sparks warnings for financially struggling individuals, setting the stage for the country's largest-ever win. LINK

This Week’s Top Picks

• Wholesale electricity price declines across Australia hint at upcoming power bill relief for households and businesses. LINK

• Scam reports mentioning Booking.com surge in Australia, with losses exceeding $337,000 in 2023, says ACCC. LINK

• The big four accounting firms confess to hundreds of conflict of interest rule breaches in the US. LINK

• Afterpay's parent company Block initiates global job cuts exceeding 1,000 positions. LINKAustralians with higher credit scores, above 700, are more likely to be targeted by hackers, having accounted for 72% of all attempted breaches in 2023. LINK

• Neuralink implants its first brain chip in a human patient, with Elon Musk announcing promising initial results. LINK

• IBM issues an ultimatum to managers who are still working remotely: relocate near an office or leave the company, as part of its increased return-to-office mandate. LINK

• ACCC report calls for government action to address childcare accessibility challenges, particularly for low-income and diverse households. LINK

• Brisbane is leading Australia's cost-of-living crisis with the highest rent, energy, health and insurance price hikes in the past year. LINK

• Interstate buyers make up one in four Gold Coast property auction sales, significantly higher than the national average. LINK

• There has been a drop in lenders offering mortgage cashbacks, with banks learning from this trend and unlikely to resume such offers soon. LINK

• AlphaTauri F1 Team Renaming: Red Bull's Formula 1 junior team, AlphaTauri, rebrands to Visa Cash App RB F1, facing mockery and criticism for its new name, regarded as one of the worst in F1 history. LINK

• A Bureau of Meteorology scientist loses his job and fails to get reinstated after secretly working overseas while claiming to be working from home. LINK

• Record renewable energy generation led to a 24% drop in wholesale electricity prices in the fourth quarter of 2023-24. LINK

• Australia's population surpassed 27 million, reaching this milestone 18 years earlier than predicted, with migration significantly contributing to this growth. LINK

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